Project to promote more green energy in Guanacaste

Project to produce more clean energy in Guanacaste is promoted

The Governments of Costa Rica and Japan carried out an exchange of notes prompting for the development of the "Project for the Introduction of Clean Energy by a Solar Electricity Generation System" proposed by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE by its acronyms in Spanish).

This exchange of notes represents the approval of the first project, of a group of 14, that the Direction of International Cooperation of the Department of Foreign Affairs presented to the Embassy of Japan in June of last year.
This project, with an estimated value of $9 million, will allow the country to have its first photovoltaic solar plant of importance. It is a matter of taking advantage of a renewable energy source that is very abundant in our country, which furthermore does not produce any emission contaminants.

The director of the Division of the Corporate University of ICE, Róger Carvajal; the Chancellor of the Republic, Bruno Stagno; the Ambassador of Japan in Costa Rica, Hidekazu Yamaguchi and the minister of Planning, Roberto Gallardo participated in the ceremony, carried out at the Chancellery,

Foreign Relations minister, Bruno Stagno, emphasized that "this initiative adds to the efforts of the country to confront the climatic change placing special emphasis in adaptation and its mitigation, as well as in improving access to clean energy".

Furthermore he emphasized that currently 51% of the country´s forest cover has been reforested, also as part of the actions taken to fight the climatic change, an initiative started over 20 years ago. He finished by thanking the government of Japan for contributing in helping to make this country carbon neutral by the year 2021 and to businesses like ICE, for being pioneers in these efforts'' A great congratulations to ICE for their commitment to the environment and renewable energies. This cooperation is a recognition not only for the country, but also for ICE'', he manifested.

In turn, the Ambassador of Japan, Hidekazu Yamaguchi, expressed that the program of donations of the Japanese government included various countries and businesses around the world and ICE was favored among the group selected.

"ICE deeply thanks the Japanese government for their donation that effectively collaborates with the effort that the country is carrying out to be supplied 100% by renewable energy sources in the near future" said Róger Carvajal.

He also added that hydroelectric, geothermic and Aeolian energies dominate the electric production of Costa Rica, thus achieving that 94.6% of the electricity of the country is being generated from clean energy sources.

The project has two subdivisions. The first one, called Solar Project Miravalles, is located at the Geothermal Plant of Miravalles, in Guanacaste. ICE will install a solar central microcomputer of 400 kw. there.

The second, called Solar Pilot Project Savannah, of 3 kw, will be located in the area that occupies the main building of the ICE offices in North Sabana, San José. The purpose of this pilot plan is to show the residents of the Metropolitan Area the possibilities that solar energy offers.

Both the Miravalles and the microcomputer project in La Sabana will have their systems directly connected to a network, thus both installations will be contributing their energy into the national electric system directly via such network.

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